Disco Lights and Leather
by Illuminatethestains
Summary: 'So….the pants' She raises an eyebrow as she says this. There's no getting over those pants.  Damon/Elena 2x18


**Disco Lights and Leather**

Inspired by that lovely episode still we had a few weeks back – and also the promo that everyone can't seem to stop reblogging on tumblr, myself included.

I'd love to hear what you think of it!

-Lisa.

Elena stands on the edge of the dance floor, drink in hand. Stefan's gone off to find Caroline, who's off somewhere chasing Matt. The multicolored lights are hurting her eyes, but rubbing them will smudge her carefully placed make up. She's not even sure her outfit really goes with the theme. Of course, there's more important things to be worrying about than outfit choices. Like original vampires, and evil doppelgangers that refuse to go away.

'Need a dance partner?'

She turns to look behind her and finds Damon standing with his arms folded against the wall. She can see that he's just finished talking to Alaric, who's now making his way over to Jenna. She really ought to ask Jenna how that whole relationship thing is going.

'You know, you're supposed to be keeping an eye out for Klaus'

Her tone is light, teasing, but he senses an underlying hint of anxiety underneath - her eyes linger on his a little longer than necessary, as if they were searching his for some kind of comfort. They're all scared, in their own way. Even Damon himself is slightly wary about meeting the ancient vampire and facing the chaos he would not doubt bring once he came out of hiding. But that's wariness, not fear. When does Damon ever get scared?

He looks passed Elena and spots Bonnie and Jeremy entwined in each other's arms in the middle of the dance floor. She's so small next to him; her head only reaches his chest, which it's now leaned against. They ignore everyone else, their only focus on each other in this moment. Elena follows his gaze to her brother and his girlfriend and turns to smile back at Damon.

'Isn't it cute?' she sighs happily.

'Don't you mean illegal?'

She rolls her eyes.

'That is perfectly legal and you know it'

'Do you remember the last time I asked you to dance?' he says with a slight smile.

She nods her head.

'You mean the time I turned you down?' She says matter of factly.

He decides not to inform her of the small amount of pain that had caused him. No need to rehash the past. What is done is done and all that. Besides, they could all be dead by the end of the night.

'I'd like _not_ to be humiliated this time'

She gets a good look at his outfit as he says this, and she doesn't know whether to turn away or laugh. His black shirt is buttoned only to the middle of his chest, and you can _definitely_ see muscle moving under the white skin there. What makes the outfit though is what he has on his lower half – _tight_ leather pants. She tries hard to not make it obvious that she's staring.

'No worries there, those pants have done that for you'

He looks down his body at her comment and she giggles. In all seriousness – he does look good. _Appropriate. _Yes that's the word she will use. _Appropriate in a good way._

She decides to humor him though, what will one little dance hurt? If Klaus does indeed keep his promise and makes an appearance, wouldn't it be safer for her to be in the arms of a vampire?

He comes to stand directly in front of her, and she puts her arms around his neck. Her boldness startles both of them, though Damon is better at hiding it. He puts his hands at her waist gently. There's an awkward gap between the two of them, compared to the other couples dancing on the floor.

The song that starts to play next is slow and light – and for this she is grateful, dancing with your boyfriend's sexy brother to a fast sexy song is not the way to go.

She is _so_ glad Damon cannot read her mind right now.

She looks around to stare at the other couples – their bodies with only inches of space between them, hands touching places that are a little bit too inappropriate.

'Don't worry, I'll keep my hands to myself,' he says, as if he's read her mind.

They are silent for awhile, but it's comfortable. They dance slowly in a small circle, the other couples taking no notice of their slowness. Images begin to flood Elena's head. A silent courtyard, several friends and family members standing around as several couples begin a traditional dance. Their hands coming to meet but not quite touching as they circle each other. She'd never admit how often she thinks about that moment. She _knows_ that she shouldn't be thinking about it.

That's what they do now though, isn't it? Dance around each other. Circling without ever really stopping to take each other in. The thought makes her sad. The past can't be changed though.

She sighs quietly, and then regrets it because she knows Damon can hear her.

He frowns down at her for a slight second, and then quickly scans the room with his wide eyes.

'He's not here Elena' he promises. She knows that he's being sincere, but there's a hint of something in his voice. She's sure it's _doubt_.

She wonders if this is what their lives will always be like now, constantly scanning every unfamiliar face. Looking around every corner.

'So….the pants?' She raises an eyebrow as she says this. There's no getting over _those_ pants.

'What about them?' he asks in mock confusion. Of course Damon would not find anything remotely hilarious about his choice of attire.

'They've got to be cutting off some kind of circulation right?'

He's about to reply with some cutting remark about _her_ outfit when the song finally ends and straight away a fast upbeat song starts blasting through the speakers and suddenly the dancing people around them begin to speed up to the beat.

Without warning her, Damon grabs hold of the hands that she has around his neck and pulls them down to her chest, holding them tightly to him.

She's about to ask what he's doing, but he begins to speak.

'Prepare yourself for this'

She raises her eyebrows.

'Prepare for wh…..'

Before she has the chance to finish, she's being spun so fast that the dance floor becomes a blur of colour and bright lights. Her ponytail whips into her face and before her eyes can adjust she's being spun back in the opposite direction. Damon's face is mere inches from hers and she finds herself smiling back up at him as she gathers her breath.

Several other dancers have turned to watch and Elena avoids looking in their general direction. She'd probably never be prepared to admit how fun that had been. She suppresses the urge she has to ask him to do it again.

'Wow, who knew you had that in you?' she teases as soon as she can speak again.

'I have moves you've never seen before' he says with confidence, biting his lip. The look he's giving her makes her slightly uncomfortable, but she refuses to look away.

'I don't doubt' she laughs.

This whole thing is exhilarating, and completely unexpected. Who knew Damon was so good at taking her breath away?


End file.
